T&E says oil lobbyist are pushing for e-fuels to keep ICE engines in the market

In Belgium, Transport & Energy says battery electric cars (BEVs) are the cleanest, cheapest and best option we have to decarbonise our cars, vans and most trucks, the largest source of carbon emissions in many countries. But it believes Europe is losing ground to global competition: electric cars sales continue surging in China and the US while they have started to stagnate in Europe by the first half of this year. 

The decision by both the European Parliament and 27 Member States to phase-out all combustion engine models (ICEs) by 2035 is exactly the signal Europe’s auto industry needs to ramp-up BEV production and reach affordability in the mass-market as early as possible, says T&E. Yet the oil and automotive supplier lobbies claim that cars are better decarbonised by so-called “carbon neutral” synthetic fuels, or “e-fuels”. This analysis looks at the viability of these neutrality claims and at how many cars can be realistically decarbonised by such fuels.